Rough, tough, rugged and chunky to drive, the Lada Niva won’t appeal to sophisticated SUV drivers – it feels like a car from the past. Unsurprisingly, the UK importer is targeting the agricultural market, offering it as an alternative to a second-hand Land Rover Defender. With a two-year warranty and a whole load of old-school appeal, it has a certain charm – although its best days are long behind it.

This really is a Lada Niva, and you can buy it new for less than £10,000! Although you would be forgiven for thinking it died years ago, Russia’s favourite 4x4 is still in production, and it’s being imported to the UK again for the first time since 1997.

The interior is basic and not terribly comfortable, while there are three simple levers sprouting from the transmission tunnel to control low/high ratios, the diff lock and the five-speed box.
Space is in short supply in the rear, and the LPG tank takes up most of the luggage bay. Yet despite these drawbacks, the Niva appeals with its old-fashioned honesty, plus its off-road ability

But the car is accomplished in mud and gravel, and the short wheelbase, high ground clearance and torquey engine ensure only the roughest terrain will stop it.

By:

autoexpress.co.uk

Its compact size and a 4 wheel drive are the qualities of LADA 4х4 that are important in any city, both in old curving streets and on crowded avenues.

Other traits that cannot leave a city person indifferent are comfort and original style. We took into account these wishes and created LADA 4х4 Urban.

Number one in the list of options for the city is an air conditioner. An effective conditioning system quickly creates a comfortable temperature in a compact cabin of LADA 4х4 Urban, and a pleasant freshness stays longer thanks to sunscreen glasses

The observability is improved thanks to power heated exterior mirrors and a bigger cleaning zone of the back window

A more strict black covering replaced chrome on door knobs and window seals

By:

lada.ru

The Niva has impressive off-road credentials thanks to steep attack and departure angles, as well as a low-ratio gearbox and locking centre differential. However, as soon as its wheels touch Tarmac, the problems start

Faster trips are more fraught affairs because the engine doesn't really have the power to make cruising pleasurable, and overtaking on the motorway requires a lot of forward planning.

The Niva is available only as a left-hand drive, three-door hatchback, so isn't the easiest car to live with. True, the dashboard is simple enough principally because there's almost nothing on it but fit and finish feel like they're from another century, and some of the plastics have an alarmingly flimsy feel.

Still, at least the weak performance perfectly compliments the Niva's poor ride and road holding. The ride is unsettled and there's severe body roll when cornering. The steering is reasonably light, but it's also slow and numb